


KomaTose

by NeverNothing



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crush at First Sight, First Meetings, Game Conventions, Kenma being called "Kozume-san", M/M, Video Game Producer! Kenma, someone help kuroo, youtuber! Kuroo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 18:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16180622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverNothing/pseuds/NeverNothing
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou would have never expected his first meeting with the lead game producer of KomaTOSE to go like this. In the end, he can't bring himself to regret it.





	KomaTose

**Author's Note:**

> The pace felt kinda meh and I did my best fixing it,, but see for yourself...

_The credits were rolling. The man in the top left corner wiped at his eyes, tears streaking his cheek._

_“Wow.” His voice was thick with emotion and a breathless chuckle escaped the boundary of his throat._

_Laden, he leaned back after setting down the controller that was already out of view. “I have to let that sink for a bit.”_

_In complete silence, he watched the credits, disbelieving laugh along with soft music the only noise being heard. “They actually did that. That took balls, wow.”_

_Ruffling his hair and still out of breath, his mouth curled into a wide and sincere smile.  His eyes had caught something. “And there he is. The man of the moment. The one behind this all.” He stared directly at the camera when he said his next words. ”Kozume Kenma, you are a genius.”_

_He collected himself for a moment. “I mean.” He cleared his throat again and laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, the crying messed with my voice. Anyway- what was I saying again?” He seemed to ponder on his words while staring at his desk. Then, suddenly, his head shot back up to the camera._

_“Right, Kozume Kenma. This thing is his baby- the first work he did for KomaTOSE- and wow, what a job he did with it.” The raven gestured outlandishly. “It’s unbelievable. I mean, this game came out when? Three years ago? Way ahead it’s time. The engine worked flawlessly, the story is so well thought through, I want to cry just thinking about it. And the graphics! I have no idea why I haven’t played this earlier.” He let out a small chuckle. “Or well, I can imagine why, but! That’s a different topic. Thanks for everyone out there who was constantly screaming at me to finally play this game. Totally worth it- you guys are the true heroes.” He grinned boldly at his camera._

_A toned done whistle and a change in the music interrupted him. The screen showed a ‘You may continue your adventure.” Amused, the raven shook his head and picked up the controller once again, moving the player along the environment. His expression turned wistful._

_„What an experience. Have there been any updates on a new game already? I don’t think I have heard anything yet. That sucks._

_I guess it’s the end for now, then? Don’t worry, I’ll come back to the game later, but there is some other stuff I’m planning to do next.” The raven directed his character to the edge of the building, surveying the city. “Actually, there was an announcement I wanted to make.”_

_The young man stared up again, directly facing the camera, and a sly grin spread across his face. “I think you’ll like it.”_

Kuroo Tetsurou had been invited to be a guest at one of Japan's biggest game convention, even having scheduled his own panel. As one of Japan’s most subscribed YouTube gamers, he had enough of a following to warrant the invitation. It had been a huge honor to receive.

The weeks leading up to the convention had been some of the busiest in his life. Preparing videos to upload for the time he was away, organizing his panel and coordinating it with other panels he wanted to visit or was asked to guest at together with some of his fellow YouTube friends. It amounted to a lot of work but even thinking about it lit in excited flame in his chest.

His anticipation rose even more when the organizer published their official schedule and Tetsurou saw _KomaTOSE_ announce their very own panel and release teasers for their newest game. He almost lost it when the marketing team of the video game production team promised they would reserve him a seat for their panel. He had worked even harder, then.

Standing in the waiting room, fresh out of a fan signing and already tired to the bone, he decided it had been all worth it. It was already the last of five days. The faces of his viewer’s, their laughs and sincere happiness at seeing and getting to talk to him had burned themselves into his memory. Those were images he swore to himself to never forget. It was a humbling experience.

A downside of being an invitee, however, was not being able to move around the venue freely. Especially during peak hours, there were strict guidelines restricting his movements. His manager had to be at his sides at all times- he was lucky Sawamura was pleasant enough company. Often even accompanied by security guards to manage the crowds. All in all, it was manageable as most visitors were there for the games but it still made it hard for Tetsurou to visit every booth he wanted to.

Even now he was shooed along the path, flanged by Sawamura on one side and a bodyguard on the other. Tetsurou contemplated losing them, but he was not sure he would find the panel he was scheduled to appear at next without them. He had spent the last two hours wandering around the venue, checking out various games. It had been fun.

They were standing by a crowded booth now. Originally, Tetsurou had wanted to play the demo they were advertising, but seeing how busy it was, his chances were low. He gave his companions a sign to continue on their way. Turning to follow them, he almost walked into a fellow visitor.

Barely being able to stop in time, his mind stuttered. Tetsurou immediately forgot the people he was with as he stared at the man in front of him. He was slightly shorter than him- the perfect height to be hugging comfortably, a voice in his head helpfully contributed. Fact only empathized by the oversized sweater he was wearing. Blond hair that was obviously dyed with a fringe that partly covered his eyes. He caught a look at his face. Suddenly, the raven’s mouth was dry. Something in his chest squeezed almost painfully at the sight of the man in front of him.

Tetsurou’s brain-to-mouth filter apparently decided it was the perfect moment to malfunction. “Oh wow, you’re super cute.”

The blond blushed and winched as Tetsurou realized he had voiced his thoughts out loud. Scrambling for words, there was a hand pulling on his sweater and an impatient gaze from bodyguard. He was late already and aware of the lump starting to grow around them. He did not have time. What would Tetsurou give to get some time to speak to the blond in front of him. He ruffled his hair, hearing his name called impatiently and swore soundlessly. “Listen, I’m really sorry. That was inappropriate.”

The words had barely left his mouth and Tetsurou was being dragged away. Trying to hold eye contact with the cute blond, it did not get long for him to get swallowed in the crowd. A deep sigh stole his way out of the confines of his chest before facing up front and watching where his feet went. That had been a disaster.

The raven contemplated his manager, who had pulled him into the waiting room once again. “I might have just embarrassed myself in front of an incredible cute guy.” He proclaimed dramatically.

Sawamura looked at him with an indulgent smile. “You sound like Tooru.”

The raven snorted. “What a way to cheer me up, Sawamura,” he drawled, eyeing the couch and weighing the pros and cons of throwing himself onto it. He decided against it, seeing as he most likely had to leave again soon. Hopefully, there would be coffee, he had to process that embarrassment before facing people again. “What’s up next?” He asked instead.

The manager grinned. “You’d be lost without me, Kuroo.”

Tetsurou laughed. “No need to point it out so directly.” Wrapping his arm around his manager’s shoulder, he lead him out of the waiting room despite having no idea where exactly he had to be at that moment. His encounter with the cute blond had thrown him off. Thank God for Sawamura, indeed. He would make sure everything went according to plans, Kuroo could trust in him.

According to Sawamura, the _KomaTOSE_ panel was coming up. It would be no understatement to say Tetsurou was excited for it.

Being guided through the crowd was still a pain, but a necessary one. Arriving at the hall the panel was supposed to take place, he was steered to a seat, surrounded by other YouTubers and streamers. Tetsurou figured they had received an invitation, too, and made small talk about game demos that had been broadcasted during the convention to pass time until the panel began.

Finally, the light was dimmed. _KomaTOSE_ ’s production team- the one that was working on the game they were teasing- entered the stage one after another. His eyes caught a shock of blond hair, roots dark. His heart stopped. He _knew_ that man. Tetsurou stared, stunned, as the blond he had accidentally hit on not even an hour ago introduced himself as Kozume Kenma. Lead producer of _KomaTOSE_ and absolute master of his field. A man he had the utmost respect for.

His mind went into overdrive, not quite willing to understand what was going on. Tetsurou valiantly fought down the deep-seated sense of mortification that was threatening to resurface again. How did he manage to mess up that badly?

His eyes were glued to the blond, taking him in. His shoulders were slightly drawn in, he was hunching at the blaring noise of the crowd. Kozume Kenma took a while to absorb the atmosphere, gaze wandering, eyes gleaming gold in the spotlight. It gave Tetsurou the indefinable impression that he was committing every single face present into his memory. His chest throbbed as warmth spread in his body. He was sure his expression showed more fondness than was appropriate but he could not help himself. That appearance left him defenseless.

The game artist had taken on moderating the whole panel but Tetsurou had trouble concentrating on him. He kept getting distracted by the blond game producer. Time passed too quickly. Noise of the crowd cheering sounded distant, he barely even remembered the demo of their newest game they showed. Kuroo Tetsurou was in a daze and he wished he could blame the blond man for it.

“And now, seeing as we don’t have that much time left, there is one thing all of us would like to address. As a lot of you perhaps know, there have been internet personalities showing their support online- playing games our team developed or just talking about it and our projects. We as a team are incredibly thankful for them.

We have invited some of them here to our panel today and would like to thank them personally.  Most of them likely don’t realize how much of an impact their support had on us.”

Tetsurou had gotten stock-still the moment the mentioned internet personalities. It couldn’t be, right?

Names were called and people walked up the stage. The game artist was narrating _something_ all the while but Tetsurou just could not bring himself to focus.

His name was called, a camera panned to his face. Tetsurou could not believe it. The crowd behind him went crazy. Did he really deserve this? He had loved their game, had enjoyed playing it immensely and praised it a lot. He was not shy to call it one of his favourite games he ever played- not to neglect the success his playthrough had in his community. But there was this nagging in the back of his mind. He had gotten to the game late. What good could it have done?

“-he only played our game recently, but it coincided wonderfully with our plans to release a new game-” He got choked up. The rest of the game artist’s speech was lost on him. _Don’t cry Tetsurou, you don’t want that happening in front of all these people._ The raven swallowed dryly and followed the directions up the stage.

On the way up, he caught the eyes of the cute blond- _Kozume Kenma_ , he berated himself. That was a different embarrassment he still had to deal with. There was a glint in his eyes that made it hard to breathe.

“You are the one that had that cotton pad stuck in his nose, right?” It was the level designer standing beside Kozume-san that had asked.

Tetsurou chuckled nervously, coming to stand beside other gamers that had been invited up on stage. The blond that had caught his eyes even before he knew who he was standing only a couple of feet away. _Lead game producer_ of his favourite game. The raven still had troubles processing the situation he was in.

And of course the game production team knew about that one scene. He had been playing _their_ game and it went viral. Even though it was an entirely embarrassing moment and had been a pain to clean up, he never truly regretted it.

“Ah-” Tetsurou had never felt more awkward. He bowed to the members of the game development team that were present. “It’s been an honor to finally meet you. I’m a huge fan of your latest game.”

“That’s not what you said the last time we met.” A calm voice commented. Tetsurou flushed. There was a teasing glint in the blond’s eyes as he stepped a bit closer.

He was lingering in front of the raven, speaking loud enough for his words to be picked up by his mic. They were on the stage, in front of hundreds pairs of eyes- even more of you counted the online stream that was happening right now- and he felt challenged. Instantly, he forgot about his embarrassment. No way he would back down.

“You have to admit, those were different circumstances and I also had no idea who you were.” Tetsurou decided to play along, slipping into his characteristic grin. He could hear the excited murmur of the crowd but ignored it.

Kozume-san’s eyebrows rose. “Taking it back, then?”

“No. What I said still stands.” A small smile curled along the lips of the game producer’s face. It felt a lot like a win.

The moderator broke the moment. “It seems you two know each other?”

“Not really.” The game producer was still looking at Tetsurou. The raven tried his best to look composed and was sure he was successful enough, cocky grin in place. “Just exchanged a few words before the panel is all.”

“I wish to change that, of course.” Tetsurou butted in, moving further towards the blond and drawing his words out. There elbows were almost bumping and the raven’s heart was racing. There was cheering from the crowd and even some cat calls. Tetsurou did not care for it and hoped the game producer felt the same. Making him feel uncomfortable was the last thing he wanted.

Thankfully, that did not seem to be the case. Once again, as long as Tetsurou’s mind was not playing tricks on him, he saw the start of a smile. His heart fluttered.

The rest of the panel passed in a blur. Tetsurou distantly remembered flirting with the dyed blond a bit more, edging closer to him, encouraged by the looks the other kept shooting him. By the end they were standing beside each other, arms brushing but both entirely comfortable.

While they were walking off the stage, Kozume-san laid a hand on his shoulder. Halfway down the stairs already, the blond was- for once- taller than Kuroo.

“Just Kenma is fine.” He whispered so only Tetsurou could here and then continued on his way like nothing had happened. Tetsurou stared after him.

He definitely had to drop by their booth and ask for his phone number later. Praying to every god willing to listen, he hoped Kenma would agree to another meeting, maybe grab a coffee- with just the two of them.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> |[@Twitter](https://twitter.com/nevernothingx3)


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